LITERATURE 



History and literature are kindred sciences, 

 both are the written story of life which has been 

 lived. History places before us the life of action, 

 and the heroes of history are chiefly pioneer 

 statesmen, soldiers, merchants, inventors, leaders 

 of industry. Literature presents the inner life 

 of thought and emotion and ideals. Its pages 

 are written for us by historians and novelists 

 and poets and philosophers. Both through 

 deed and word, history and literature reveal to 

 us the life of a nation. 



But the life of a nation is not an individual 

 thing. There is an intercourse of nations, as 

 well as an interdependence. Literature, as 

 well as history, reveals the influence of this 

 universal contact. It is only by a survey of all 

 literatures that any single literature can be 

 appreciated or understood. The following tables 

 and discussions present such a survey. 



COMPARATIVE VIEW OF 



ANCIENT ORIENTAL 



LITERATURES 



2000 B. C. TO 1500 B. C. 



INDIA. Earliest Vedic hymns in Sanskrit. These 

 Vedic hymns were probably sung or repeated for a thou- 

 sand years before they were committee! to writing. 



PERSIA. Earliest metrical hymns. 



CIII X A. Development of ideo-phonetic writing. Odes, 

 hymns, laws, historic documents preserved by imperial 

 di-crrc. 



HEBREW. Age of Abraham and the patriarchs. 

 Book of Job. 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. Cuneiform in- 

 scriptions on stone slabs, and on brick and clay tablets, 

 delicate inscriptions on glass and metal. Chaldean 

 account of the deluge compiled about 2000 B. C. 



Golden age of Babylonian literature and rise of Assy- 

 rian literature. 



ARABIA. War-loving tribes roving over the table 

 lands of Arabia produced an oral literature of pastorals, 

 rude songs, and triumphal odes. 



I <-VI*T. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on monuments 

 and papyri. Hermetic books (treaties on alchemy, 



Book of the dead, Pta-hoteph's moral treatise. 

 1500 B. C. TO 1000 B. C. 



INDIA. Collection of Vedic hymns, embodying 

 the system of philosophy: The Institutes of Manu, 

 regulating moral and social Hfh 



)' I KSlA. Age of Zoroaster. Compilation of the 

 Zend, the only existing monument of a once extensive 

 literature. 



< I UNA. The Five Great Classics of Antiquity, t!,.- 

 most important of these is the Book of Changes. 



Ml HKi:\V. I!..- \r- "f \I-- :inl tli- Pentateuch. 



Hebrew anthems and elegies and wisdom literature, 

 riilmirmting in the psalms of David and proverbs of 

 Solomon. 



KM:\IHM\ \\D V^YHIA. Preservation of 

 records in royal libraries. 



ptions elaborately wrought on stone ami 'm 

 cotta. Chief cities made depositories of royal libraries. 

 Babylonian literature rir)> m In t ion. astrology, law, 



grammar hiMorv. math. 



ARABIA. Inscriptions on walls, tombs, dikes, and 

 bronze tablets. 



EGYPT. Great library founded. Golden Age of 

 Ramesis. Literature rich in epic poetry, odes, ballads, 

 hymns, romances, fables, history, science, etc. 



1000 B. C. TO 500 B. C. 



IMMV. \nrirnt Vr.hr tntntlntiniK rout 



great epics and lyrics. The Ramayana and the Maha- 



barata are called the Iliad and Odyssey of the Sanskrit. 

 Dramas, tales, fables, and epigrams abound. 



PERSIA. Preservation and enlargement of books 

 of sacred literature. Compilation of the Zend Aveeta. 



CHINA. Age of Confucius. A period of great liter- 

 ary activity. Compilation of the sacred learning of the 

 Chinese by Confucius and the introduction of higher 

 ethical ideals. 



HEBREW. Songs of lamentation and prophetic 

 books of the period of the captivity. The Idylls of 

 Ruth and Esther. 



ASSYRIA. Decline of Babylonia and revival of 

 arts and sciences in Assyria. 



ARABIA. Increase of learning among the Arabs. 

 Development of language and literature. Three 



Auralkeis. Tharafa, and Antar. 



EGYPT. Age of decline, 

 writing introduced. 



poets, 

 Simplified form of 



LITERATURE OF INDIA 



The literature of India is vast beyond all com- 

 prehension. The library of one or the kings is 

 said to have contained so many books that a 

 hundred Brahmans were employed in taking 

 care of it, and a thousand dromedaries were 

 required to convey it from place to place. 

 Literary activity in India is as great to-day as 

 in the past, and vast stores of learning are ac- 

 cumulated there. 



The most ancient of Hindu literatures is the 

 Sanskrit, a branch of the Indo-European group 

 of languages, which includes the Persian, Greek, 

 Latin, Teutonic, Slavonic, Celtic, and Scandi- 

 navian. The Sanskrit is supposed to bear the 

 closest resemblance to the primitive language, 

 from which all this group of languages sprung. 

 It is the sacred language of the Brahmans, and 

 although classed to-day among the dead lan- 

 guages, it is kept alive in the conversation and 

 writings of the priestly caste. It has furnished 

 a rich storehouse for European scholars. 



Sanskrit appears in its most ancient form in 

 the Vedas, which date, at least, one thousand 

 years before Christ, and these Vedic hymns 

 were probably sung and recited many hundred 

 years before they were commit tod to writing. 

 The history of Sanskrit literature divides into 

 two periods, the Vedic and the classic, 

 periods partly overlap each other, but the later 

 Vedic works are distinguished by the subjects 

 with which they deal and their archaic style. 



The word Veda means "knowledge," books 

 of knowledge. These sacred books of the Brah- 

 mans are divided into four classes: (1) Rig- 

 Veda, or lore of praise (hymns); (2) Sama- 

 Veda, or lore of tunes (chants); (3) Yajur- 

 Veda, lore of prayer (sftorifldd rites); and (4) 

 Atharva-Veda, devotional services (ii 

 tions), to be used in sacrifices and other religious 

 offices. The last three Vedas are medley ex- 

 tracts from the R- Veda, Each Veda is divided 

 into two parts, the first consisting of prayers, 

 and the second of commandments. Six branches 

 of Vedic science are included under the terms 

 Vedanga. namely: phonetics, music, grammar, 

 etymology, astronomy, ceremonials. These 

 books also contain legends and philosophical 



